The University of Cincinnati baseball coach Scott Googins has stepped down from his role as an investigation into a sports betting scandal at the college department continues.
Googins has followed Assistant Baseball Coach Kyle Sprague and Director of Operations Andy Nagel – who were dismissed from the University Athletics department following an internal investigation – out of the exit door.
The scandal is seemingly centered around a player’s parent – Bert Neff – who was in dialogue with coaches, as well as Sprague and Nagle, who did not report the incident to the NCAA, or the athletics department.
It is believed that Neff is also the parent at the center of the controversy involving Brad Bohannon and the Alabama baseball team after the Ohio Casino Commission Control pulled the team from the regulated sports betting catalog.
It was reported that he was on the phone with Bohannon shortly before placing a bet on the Alabama-LSU baseball game at the BetMGM Sportsbook at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.
Whilst Sprague and Nagle’s dismissals related to their knowledge of Neff’s betting activity, no reports have suggested that Googins had the same knowledge. Googins, according to the university, had stepped down rather than fired.
“I want to thank Coach Googins for his time and commitment to the Bearcats,” said John Cunningham, University of Cincinnati Director of Athletics.
“We have begun a national search for a new head coach, and we are excited about the future of Cincinnati baseball.”
